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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28018866">Meet Me in the Void</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drabbles_Of_Writing/pseuds/Drabbles_Of_Writing'>Drabbles_Of_Writing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fallen AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amity Blight Needs a Hug, Angry Amity Blight, Assassins, Being Lost, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Chases, Confused Amity Blight, Eda Clawthorne is Luz Noceda's Parent, Explosions, Fights, Fist Fights, Gen, Healing, Hollow Knight - Freeform, How Do I Tag, Luz Noceda has ADHD, Magic, Major Character Injury, Multi, Nicknames, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Luz Noceda, Protective Eda Clawthorne, Sarcastic Luz Noceda, Swordfighting, Team Up, Teamwork, The Infection (Hollow Knight), The Void, Touch-Averse, Trains, Trapped, Weapons, but more like just Tired, chasers, fallen au, its not AS bad but we do get a little in detail about blood in later chapters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:47:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,930</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28018866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drabbles_Of_Writing/pseuds/Drabbles_Of_Writing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Unlike the movies, most train fights don't end up going well. Similarly, some assassins hunting down you and your friends have a bit more to them than meets the eye.<br/>This, however, didn't mean you should combine both things. And certainly not at the bottom of a Void-filled canyon when your only company is said assassin.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eda Clawthorne &amp; King &amp; Luz Noceda &amp; Willow Park &amp; Gus Porter, Eda Clawthorne &amp; Luz Noceda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fallen AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2052291</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>132</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Well, That Could've Gone Better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>*slaps roof of fic* this bad boy can fit so much in it that I need to explain<br/>Okay SO this is a little different from my other AUs. This one is loosely based off of a video game called Hollow Knight. If you don't know what that game is, basically your a bug lad in the underground home of Them Bugs and trying to save them from an angry moth god and the mistakes of your dad. Never played it, but I hear its really fun &amp; hard.<br/>What you basically need to know going in is that Luz is trapped in underground, the witches are pretty much the same but have more bug-like features here and there, and I only have half an idea of what I'm doing but I'm having fun.<br/>I suggest asking questions at my tumblr to make things easier for you: https://drabbles-of-writing.tumblr.com/<br/>Enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>                 The Boiling Isles name is a little misleading.</p><p>It’s technically not even made of isles. It was completely underground, for one thing. And all the ‘islands’ were more like big pieces of rock that people lived on, with massive trenches in between them. You couldn’t even see the bottom of most. </p><p>This was called the Void. An empty nothingness with some tar-like substance at the bottom. And while some ‘islands’ had water between them, most were just surrounded by the Void. And there were plenty of transportations over the Void. A common one was by train, over bridges built above the trenches and canyons.</p><p>And contrary to popular belief, most train fights don’t end up going very well.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>                    “How come I was never told you guys had a library?” Luz complained, peeking around the train car.</p><p>“You didn’t ask,” Willow pointed out calmly.</p><p>“You’ll love it,” Gus insisted right after, his eyes practically sparkling. “The Mosaic Library is the biggest library in the whole Isles! If there really is anything on old magic, it’ll be there.”</p><p>“If Belos hasn’t purged it yet,” Eda muttered, pulling Luz back and taking a look herself, watching as people boarded the train, the group hidden from sight on the other side.</p><p>“That library is hundreds of years old, maybe even thousands.” Gus said, waving her off. “And it's rumored to have a hundred books for every year it's been standing. Emperor Belos couldn’t have gotten rid of <em> everything </em> on old magic, should such books exist.”</p><p>“Now you sound like my teachers debating my future,” Eda huffed, rolling her eyes as she pulled back until she was in the shadow of the train with the others. “Alright, they’re about to move again. King--”</p><p>“Don’t let go, yeah, yeah, I know.” King grumbled, his head poking out of Eda’s hair. “Yeesh, fall on the tracks <em> one time </em> and you never hear the end of it.”</p><p>Eda rolled her eyes and gave the three kids an exasperated look. She opened her mouth to say something before the train beside them whistled and began to rumble.</p><p>“Times up!” Eda said instead, hurrying around and onto the steps on the caboose. </p><p>The kids sprung up and all followed suit as the train began to slowly pull out of the station. Eda made room as Willow and Gus hopped onto the steps. Luz was the last one, grabbing the railing and pulling herself up.</p><p>“If any of you fall off, I’m not going after you.” Eda said calmly, turning to the door of the caboose. “King, lockpick?”</p><p>King disappeared into her hair, mumbling as he tried to find the bent metal Eda called her lockpick. Luz turned away, instead deciding to watch as the station, and in turn, the town, disappeared behind them while she still had the chance.</p><p>A familiar flash caught her eye.</p><p>Luz squinted, leaning over the railing as the train started to shakily pick up speed.</p><p>Three figures appeared on the station platform, and Luz’s blood went cold.</p><p>They all wore black, including black gloves that almost looked connected to their sleeves. Each of them bore a collared cloak that only reached their knees.</p><p>Two of them were identical in nearly every way. They were tall and their cloaks were dark green, and they wore white skull-like masks with dark holes for the eyes. The masks had two horns protruding upwards that curved in towards each other, with a noticeable notch at the end of each horn, giving it two sharp ends.</p><p>The third was smaller, about Luz’s height. Their cloak was dark purple, and their mask was similar to their partners. But the horns were thicker and instead of sticking straight up were at a tilted angle, and only moderately curved at the tips with no notches.</p><p>The Chasers. The Emperor’s Coven elite trio of soldiers.</p><p>Needless to say, Luz’s gang didn’t exactly get along with them.</p><p>The smaller one, whom Luz creatively named Purple, turned their head towards the departing train.</p><p>Their masks eyes narrowed into slits. They unsheathed their weapon, a needle that Luz had often mistaken as a sword, and pointed it towards the train. Their partners turned as well.</p><p>“Guys?” Luz choked, her voice hoarse with fear.</p><p>The Chasers all leapt off the platform, landing on the tracks in mere moments.</p><p>“Guys!” Luz shouted, finding her voice again as she whirled around. “We’ve got company!”</p><p>Everyone turned to look, confused. The moment they did so, the three Chasers all shot off at frightening speed towards the train, which still hadn’t gotten onto the railroad over the trench.</p><p><em> “King!” </em> Eda snapped.</p><p>“I got it, I got it!” King frantically fumbled with the lockpick and handed it to Eda, who snatched it out of the creature's paws and jammed it into the keyhole of the door and began frantically wiggling it.</p><p>Willow took out her own weapons, which were basically two staples a bit bigger than her hands, and pushed Luz further back with Gus, towards the door.</p><p>She looked like she was about to shout something to the Chasers, who, despite the train picking up speed, were still steadily getting closer. But Eda, in record time, jammed her lockpick into the keyhole one last time before slamming her body against the door, throwing it open.</p><p>“Everyone in!” Eda barked.</p><p>They didn’t have to be told twice.</p><p>The kids all ran into the train right as one of the green Chasers reached the handrail and grabbed it.</p><p>Eda slammed the door shut just as the Chaser threw themselves against the door, slumping for a moment before their head popped right up again, staring through the window in what Luz could only describe as a glare. Gus quickly flipped on the lock for the door once more.</p><p>“Go, go!” Eda shoved the kids along, glancing back as the Chaser unsheathed a rivet from their belt, the only difference between them and their twin. They leaned off the train and held it out for their partners to grab and pull themselves onto the caboose.</p><p>The four made a break through the train car, tearing the door open at the other end, revealing a gap between the two. The next car was for passengers.</p><p>Right as Luz was ducking out of the caboose, there was the sound of glass shattering.</p><p>The four whirled around, with a fifth poking out of Eda’s hair, to see the window of the caboose door had been smashed in by the rivet. The gloved hand of the same Chaser reached in and twisted at the handle, unlocking it once more from the inside.</p><p>Nobody spared a second to wait and watch. They rushed out of the last train car and shut the door behind them. Luz turned to hurry to the next car before Eda reached out and snagged the back of her shirt.</p><p>The train had picked up speed, and in the brief time they were in the last car, had completely left the stone island.</p><p>Aside from the railroad and the wooden bridge barely holding all of it, all that was beneath them now was the Void.</p><p>Luz swallowed and let Eda tug her back.</p><p>“Alright, you kids hop on over. Be <em> careful.” </em> Eda warned, tightly holding the caboose door shut. “Run and <em> hide. </em> We’re not going to make it far on a piece of junk.”</p><p>A loud <em> crack </em> startled them.</p><p>They all jumped, looking back to see the rivet Chaser was, once again, throwing their rivet against the glass in order to break it. The other two hoverd behind them.</p><p>King leapt out of Eda’s hair, scaling the short gap between the cars and landing on the other sides railing. Gus followed close behind, jumping over the gap and ripping open the other door, running inside. </p><p>Luz and Willow followed right after, all sense of ‘sticking together’ lost on them. Once they hit that passenger car they took off <em> sprinting. </em> The other passengers looked startled and confused seeing them all run by.</p><p>Eda released her hold on the door and jumped over the gap, the last to enter the passenger car before kicking it shut and taking off. Barely seconds after Eda had released the door, Purple had yanked it open, slammed through the second, and sprinted after her. Their partners were close behind.</p><p>King had fallen behind among the runners, and Luz scooped him up as she ran by. By the time she reached the end of the passenger car, it was already wide open and Gus and Willow had vanished into the second car.</p><p>Luz glanced back for just a moment, holding King tightly in her arms as she stood in the doorway.</p><p>It was right then that Purple leapt up and kicked into Eda’s back, sending the two of them crashing into a few train seats. Those nearby yelped and rushed to get away, setting off everyone else in the car, who was already on edge from the running and the sight of the Chasers.</p><p>“Eda!” Luz cried as King leaned up in her arms, trying to get a better view instead of slipping out of her grasp.</p><p>Eda twisted around and hissed, her ears pressed back as Purple unsheathed their needle, swiping it out at Eda as they did so. The needle point glided right above Eda’s gemstone, putting a cut in her shirt as it started to quickly stain red.</p><p>The other two Chasers leapt on the back of two seats on opposite sides of the car, perched there as they watched their companion aim their needle at Eda, who had a hand pressed to her bleeding collarbone.</p><p>Luz dropped King, much to his chagrin, and unsheathed her sword from her belt. Well, it was more of a big thumbtack, but she liked to call it a sword.</p><p>She, without much thought, threw her sword towards Purple.</p><p>It was way off, but the sword did manage to catch the back of their cloak. And Purple jerked as the sword not only hooked into their cloak, but also embedded itself into the wall behind them.</p><p>Purple slowly, agonizingly so, turned their head to look behind them at where they were (terribly) pinned to the wall. They then turned their head so to look <em> directly </em> at Luz, their blank empty eyes holding what Luz could almost call surprise.</p><p>Nobody, even the passengers, dared move.</p><p>Purple then reached out a hand and grabbed the handle of the thumbtack, sharply tugging it out of the wall as their cloak fell back to its normal position beside them again. They did not move the hand holding the sword, instead keeping it in the air.</p><p>Then their eyes narrowed into slits, and that shock had been replaced with pure <em> malice. </em></p><p>A loud shriek came from Purple, one that could only be described as a furious cicada, and the stillness jarred right back to how it once was. Sharp spines, almost as long as an arm, shot up from Purple’s back and rattled. Their partners sprung to action near instantly, making a beeline over the chairs towards Eda.</p><p>In the same moment, Purple was off like a shot towards Luz, aiming the sword towards Luz with the needle clutched in their other hand.</p><p>Luz shouted and jumped back, tripping over King and falling over. Purple mistimed their run and soared right over Luz’s head, instead crashing onto the floor in a confused, snarling heap. </p><p>“Get to the roof!” Eda yelled, and Luz looked back at her.</p><p>Eda was bearing her cards, which in all terms were like a normal deck of cards, but were dangerously sharp and glided through the air like they were nothing. Eda was pressing down against the wall of the train car, waving and throwing her cards at the Chasers, who were nearly tangled up in each other trying to dodge them.</p><p>Luz stumbled to her feet the same time Purple jumped back to theirs. Luz made a break for the train window and grabbed the edge of it, struggling to push it up.</p><p>Purple tried to run towards her again, but King had recovered from being tripped over and jumped onto their leg, clinging to it so hard he managed to draw blackish-red blood. Purple made a strangled yowl-like noise and paused with a hiss, kicking their leg out as they tried to shake off King.</p><p>Luz took her chance and slipped out the window, pointedly ignoring looking at the darkness beneath her. She placed her feet on the windowsill and grabbed the handlebars on the side of the train, which were normally used to hook the train into the station when it wasn’t in use.</p><p>Luz pulled herself onto the roof, rolling and huffing as she lay on her back for a brief moment and stared up at the stalactites high above her.</p><p>The sound of scratching and scrabbling reached her above the roar of the train and Luz leapt back to her feet. She glanced back once more before jumping off the passenger car, soaring through the air for a few terrifying moments, before landing on the other car and nearly falling over.</p><p>Purple had managed to shake off King, somehow, and had crawled out of the same window as Luz. They used Luz’s thumbtack and their needle by digging them into the roof of the train as they got to their feet and dashed after her.</p><p>Luz was just jumping to the third car right as she heard a cry of pain. She looked back, seeing Purple had crashed onto the second car, hissing.</p><p>Eda jumped up from between the cars a moment later, covered in slashes and holding her cards. She had thrown one of them and as Purple spun around with their back to Luz, the human could see that a card had made a direct hit and was sticking out of their side.</p><p>Luz stumbled backwards, getting to the end of the third passenger car as Eda began throwing her cards towards the Chaser. Purple, due to having a literal card in their side, couldn’t dodge as quickly and fumbled, cards nicking their sides as they hissed and snarled, lowering their spines so to avoid getting any of them cut.</p><p>Their partners sprung up moments later, looking far better than Eda did, but certainly not unscathed. They rushed Eda, one with their rivet, the other with darts between their fingers.</p><p>Luz was about to run back into the fray when there was a blur beside her and she jerked.</p><p>Willow had reappeared, staples in hand, and bolted towards the fight, almost body slamming the Chaser with darts.</p><p>“Where did--”</p><p>“Luz!”</p><p>Luz turned, seeing Gus waving to her from the fourth passenger car window.</p><p>“We’ve got guards inside!” He called.</p><p>“And we still have Chasers up here!” Luz exclaimed, running across the car and jumping onto the fourth with very little grace. “How long is this stupid train ride?”</p><p>“Too long,” Gus shook his head.</p><p>There was the sound of shouting and clamor from inside the train, and Luz leaned down and offered a hand to Gus. He quickly took it and hung onto the side handle as he hoisted himself up.</p><p>It was then that the train took a turn, so to avoid the railroad crashing into a large cliff and instead going right above a thin canyon. Luz crouched close to the roof and braced her other hand against the same handle Gus was holding, ducking her head. Gus did the same, pressing his body close to the side of the train and squeezing his eyes shut, no doubt praying he wouldn’t go flying off into the Void.</p><p>Luz looked down the cars during the sudden turn, watching as her friends and the Chasers all got sharply jolted to the left. Purple stabbed their needle into the roof of the car, piercing it and likely terrifying everyone inside. They grabbed the arm of the Chaser with darts as they started sliding, and the third also jabbed their rivet into the roof, albeit they nearly slipped off before they managed it.</p><p>Eda dropped down low to the roof, covering Willow with an arm as she braced her feet against the handle bars behind her. Luz could see now that King had made his way back into Eda’s hair, and he was tightly clinging to her. Purple had dropped Luz’s sword and Willow reached out from under Eda’s arm to snag at it.</p><p>As the train came out of its turn, Purple turned to the partner they were holding and, very faintly, Luz could hear a series of rough clicking sounds mixed with a whistle coming from them.</p><p>The Chaser nodded and broke free of Purple. Right as Eda and Willow began to wobble to their feet, the Chaser barked to their twin before leaping up and beginning to land behind Eda before spinning around and grabbing her shoulders from behind, swinging their feet right into Eda’s back. Eda hit the roof and started to roll with the Chaser, growling.</p><p>The second Chaser tugged their rivet free of the train car, running straight for Willow and swinging it like a bat. Willow managed to duck but was soon locked in her own brawl with them.</p><p>Purple began shifting around for something in their cloak, keeping a hold on their needle in the roof. Luz wasn’t really paying attention to them at the moment.</p><p>“Gus, c’mon!” Luz said, yanking Gus onto the roof as she took off back down the cars.</p><p>“Are you <em> insane?” </em> She heard him cry behind her.</p><p>Luz leapt across the passenger cars, glancing down for just a moment to see a guard open a car door and spot her on the roof.</p><p>Well, this just kept getting better and better.</p><p>“Willow, over here!” Luz called, skidding to a stop on the edge of the third passenger car.</p><p>Willow turned for a moment, ducking underneath the rivet as it was swung at her again. She raised the thumbtack she had grabbed and hopped back as the Chaser jabbed their rivet at her. She turned and threw the thumbtack to Luz.</p><p>Luz reached up and fumbled with the handle, but managed to get a good grip on it with a celebratory “ha!”</p><p>The Chaser battling Willow noticed, and they turned their head back towards Purple, letting out a high-pitched chitter.</p><p>Luz was about to leap across the gap when she caught the eye of Purple. The Chaser finally released their needle, and Luz could see there was a string tied around the end of the needle connecting to the belt of Purple. They’d given themselves a safety line.</p><p>Luz only had a moment to realize that before Purple charged her.</p><p>She could hear Gus crying out behind her, but she was a bit too busy lurching back to avoid getting kicked in the face as Purple vaulted across the train car and landed in front of her.</p><p>Purple was up again in a flash. They shot towards Luz as she raised her sword, ducking to the side right before she swung and threw a quick left hook to Luz’s cheek. Had Luz not stumbled back and therefore threw off the punch in doing so, she was sure she would have a broken jaw.</p><p>Luz whirled and swung out her sword, almost nicking Purple’s side as they jumped back and began going in circles around Luz. They’d move closer, then back a few paces. Left one moment, right for a few more. It was almost like a dance, what with their feet constantly moving and somehow always missing stepping on the string still tying them to their needle.</p><p>Now Luz prided herself on being a good dancer, but sometimes there are limits.</p><p>Purple leapt around her, throwing kicks and punches that sometimes landed, sometimes only brushed her. Luz knew with certainty that if Purple wasn’t already bleeding from King biting their leg and Eda jabbing her cards into them, she would’ve been thrown off at the first hit.</p><p>Purple’s blood dripped onto the roof before they darted forward and threw a roundabout kick. Luz ducked and shoved her shoulder against the Chaser, feeling a welt squelch and realizing she had hit right where Eda’s card was still lodged in their side.</p><p>Purple made a noise between a screech and a bark, stumbling back and clutching their side, which had rapidly begun to bleed again at being disturbed. There was a large dark spot in their cloak now, and their glove that was holding their wound was getting soaked as well.</p><p>Luz frowned slightly, but shook it off. She pointed the end of her sword at Purple and thrust it forward, the tip pressing right between the eyes of their white mask.</p><p>Their empty black eyes stared back at her, widening. There was a brief moment of stillness, the two holding eye contact.</p><p>Then Purple suddenly jerked back and fell over, a startled yelp escaping their throat. Luz blinked and stepped back, confused.</p><p>When she looked behind them, she saw what had caused Purple to topple over.</p><p>The guards from the train, decked in scaly armor, were in between the train cars and looking up to see what the fuss was and how to handle it. One of them had grabbed the string Purple was attached to and tugged on it.</p><p>Purple rolled to their feet and spun around, snarling at the guard with an arched back. The guard squawked and released the string, not keen on meeting the wrath of a Chaser.</p><p>Gus appeared at Luz’s side, brandishing his own weapon, a brad pin that could transform into a shield, which was what it was now.</p><p>“We should go to the front of the train,” Gus said, the shield raised as he nervously glanced beyond it to Willow and Eda’s fight with the other two Chasers. King was running between the two fights, nipping and biting at a Chaser whenever he got the chance.</p><p>“At least hide to buy us some time before the train stops.” Gus added.</p><p>“We can’t leave them!” Luz protested, turning her head to him. “You can grab King and run, maybe distract the guards, but the Chasers won’t--”</p><p>It was then Luz got a sharp kick to the gut.</p><p>She wheezed and fell back, her vision starry for a few moments at the sudden jab before the weight was suddenly back on her chest and pressed down, <em> hard. </em></p><p>Luz’s vision came back enough to see Purple’s horned mask towering over her, and realized that they had their foot pressing down on her chest, heel first.</p><p>Luz puffed painfully and grabbed at their ankle, weakly attempting to push them off as every exhale deprived her of oxygen. Purple slowly leaned down over her, their face hovering about a foot over Luz’s. She could hear a low, clicking noise that could almost be described as a scolding growl coming from them. She narrowed her eyes and tried to inhale, but was straining with the effort as her mind went fuzzy. Just how strong <em> was </em> this stupid bug?</p><p>“Kid!”</p><p>Luz’s eyes snapped open. She barely had a moment to recognize Eda’s voice before a bright light exploded over her head.</p><p>That’s where it all went to hell.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>                       The explosion shook the train car, causing Purple to fall over. Luz gasped for air and kicked them further away for good measure. She scrambled to her feet, seeing that everyone had taken a hit.</p><p>One of the Chasers was thrown back by the explosion, hitting Purple’s needle and heavily tilting it. The other went skidding across the roof and, in an attempt to get a grip, kick their feet against anything they could get a grip on. Which just so happened to be the head of one of the guards, sending them flying off the train and down below.</p><p>Willow and Gus were braced on the ground, the former looking worse for wear. Gus was closer to the edge of the train car now, his shield missing and shaking as he watched everyone fearfully. Eda was standing in the middle of it all, holding a handful of cards, all of which were faintly glowing an eerie gold.</p><p>Now, Eda was known to be rather good at magic. Of the card kind at least. However, normally, Eda isn’t on the brink of passing out from blood loss and trying to protect multiple kids on a moving train over the Void.</p><p>“Eda! What are you--”</p><p>Purple had sprung to their feet again, running behind Luz so their string hooked around her legs and grabbed her shoulder, yanking both of them down. A spear, which was technically just a nail, flew right over their heads and out of sight. A guard had thrown that, as they had begun to climb onto the roof as well after one of them had gotten flung off.</p><p>“All of you are under arrest!” A guard snapped, pulling himself up onto the car Gus, Luz and Purple were all situated on.</p><p>The Chaser who had previously knocked into Purple’s needle proceeded to run towards the guard, leap up, stomp their feet on his head, and roll on the other side. The guard was dazed by getting his head hit against the metal, and slipped back down. The other guards cried out, grabbing at their comrade before he went falling off the train.</p><p>Luz started to twist around to swing her sword at Purple, but they grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, forcing her to drop the sword. In the same movement, they grabbed her neck with their other hand, unsheathing hooked, crooked claws that could be felt even through their gloves. They pricked at Luz’s skin and she went still, not keen on getting her throat clawed out.</p><p>Eda noticed, too. </p><p>“Don’t you <em> dare,” </em> She snarled, fanning her cards. </p><p>They suddenly spiked up in a bright golden glow, sparks dancing off of them. The magic surrounded it appeared to almost pulsate, and Eda bared her teeth as all the light in the surrounding area seemed to be coming from her from how bright it was. </p><p>Everyone froze.</p><p>Now was probably a good time to mention that magic was a...tricky thing. Everyone had it, but there were certain <em> limits </em> one had to put on themselves. Otherwise they can end up overexerting themselves and passing out. The Void fed on it, too. </p><p>But the point was that magic is <em> unstable </em> if one doesn’t have a strong grip on what they’re doing. Normally, that isn’t a huge problem. But this wasn’t a normal situation. And Eda wasn’t a normal person.</p><p>To cut things short, she was a ticking time bomb.</p><p>Everyone stared, not keen on moving in the slightest, should they set Eda off. Her eyes were wild and not at all grounded, and nobody wanted to test their luck. Not even the Chasers.</p><p>King was clinging to the side of the Chaser who had kicked off a guard, and both of them were completely still despite the fact King’s claws were very clearly drawing blood.</p><p>Slowly, incredibly slowly, Purple lowered their claw around Luz’s throat. They didn’t unsheathe it, likely because they were still tense or thought it would be too sudden of an action. They drew their claw away and began to release Luz’s arm behind her back, taking a slow step back.</p><p>And then one of the guards hoisted themselves up onto the roof with a loud <em> clang </em> of their armor, having not noticed anything that was going on.</p><p>Everything happened at once.</p><p>Eda whirled around at the sudden noise, in turn, setting off all her cards. The ensuing explosion was <em> far </em> larger than the last one.</p><p>There were screams, yells, but what Luz knew was that she blinked and suddenly she was falling off the roof of the train.</p><p>She had gotten tangled in the string behind her, taking Purple with her. They thrashed and twisted around in the air, though there was no hope in trying to grab the train now. The needle dislodged from the metal with barely even a millisecond of straining.</p><p>Luz screamed. Because truly, what else were you supposed to do in that situation?</p><p>She felt something clawed grab the back of her cape and turned, nearly smacking her nose right into Purple’s side.</p><p>The Chaser rumbled a growl and grabbed their string, yanking the needle closer to them till they could grab it.</p><p>They wrapped an arm around Luz’s abdomen and swiveled in the air, throwing their needle towards the wall of the thin canyon.</p><p>The needle soared towards the rock at frightening speeds before digging right into one of them. Purple tensed their hold and Luz and only then did the human realize what their plan was.</p><p>The string tightened, at the end of its line, and the two of them jolted in the air before swinging towards the wall. Purple raised their legs and bent them, bracing for impact.</p><p>Unfortunately for both of them, needles don’t tend to stick to rocks well when bearing the weight of two people and being thrown from yards away.</p><p>Halfway towards the wall, the needle gave out from its position on the rock wall and fell.</p><p>Purple twisted around, trying to grab the string and yank the needle back. But they were moving far too fast for anything to be stopped now.</p><p>They both hit the wall at full speed, the wind getting knocked from Luz. She saw stars and gasped as the stone cut at her face and side before she continued to fall.</p><p>She turned to see a black emptiness rushing up to meet her and whirled back to Purple, seeing that they were also falling and had gone completely limp.</p><p>Luz grunted and grabbed at Purple, squinting against the wind rushing by and making her eyes water. She found the string attached to Purple’s belt and pulled on it, bringing the needle to her hands.</p><p>She spun and jabbed the needle into the wall, holding it there as a painful screeching noise filled her ears and she shut her eyes in pain.</p><p>Her descent slowed, and she could almost let out a breath of relief.</p><p>However, she had forgotten to grab Purple. And while her descent slowed, theirs didn’t. And as they fell, they came to the end of the string and jolted back.</p><p>The needle was yanked away from Luz at the sudden movement and she yelped, her arm tearing back as plunged back down the canyon.</p><p>“I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead,” She repeated, scrambling to try and grab the string to pull the needle back to her, desperate to stop her fall.</p><p>Before she suddenly saw the ground rushing up to meet her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Luz turned so she fell back-first barely half a second before she collided with the ground, a wheezing breath escaping her.</p><p>She groaned, despite her slowed fall being no more than a couple dozen feet. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep her head from swimming.</p><p>She was laying on something mildly soft and turned her head, cracking open an eye.</p><p>Only to be met with a ghostly white mask with two slitted black holes.</p><p>Luz startled and jerked off of Purple before falling back on her side, not prepared for the sudden movement.</p><p>Purple was in a heap on the ground, unmoving. Their needle was beside them, having only rolled a few feet away.</p><p>Luz hesitantly reached out, crawling on her knees as she managed to grasp the Chasers fingers and pull their hand closer. She thunked her head on the ground but blearily felt around their hand until she could press two fingers to their wrist. She wasn’t quite sure why she bothered checking, but she was too delirious with pain and confusion to bother.</p><p>Faintly, she felt a pulse underneath her fingers. She figured it was probably faint due to the gloves, or the fact that technically speaking the people down here didn’t have a circulatory system. Which she had learned from a terrifying day with Eda. But it still pulsed, albeit irregularly due to a weird sack they had on their even odder hearts.</p><p>Satisfied that Luz wasn’t trapped in a canyon with a dead body, Luz released their hand and rolled over.</p><p>And almost went over a ledge.</p><p>Luz jumped back, propping her arms behind her to lean on them as she peered over.</p><p>There were long ledges and jutting rock all along the lower parts of the canyon, almost like strange paths. But beneath it all was a sea of inky tar-like blackness, writhing and curling.</p><p>The Void.</p><p>Luz swallowed and scrambled away, her back hitting the walls of the canyon as she thumped her head against it and looked up.</p><p>She could barely see the lights above, but she could make out the outline of the railroad, with the train long gone from it. In hindsight, it wasn't quite as far away as she thought. She figured it looked miles deep because of the Void.</p><p>And now she was trapped at the bottom of it with nothing but an unconscious assassin to keep her company.</p><p>Luz let out a long, pained groan and shut her eyes.</p><p>Today just kept getting better and better.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Truce?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Purple: I am in an incredible amount of anguish and am 2 seconds away from passing out from pain and/or blood loss<br/>Luz: Do you...want help?<br/>Purple: Oh HELL no</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*slaps my own adhd Moods onto a character I hc as having adhd* self care</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>                Luz had no idea where her sword had gone, which was just <em> brilliant. </em>But on the plus side, Purple hadn’t woken up yet.</p><p>Which could be a good or bad thing, depending how you look at it. On one hand, Purple <em> has </em> been trying to capture her to bring her to Emperor Belos, alive or dead. On the other hand, they <em> are </em> a local and probably know more about this situation than Luz does.</p><p>And she didn’t even know where everyone else had gone. Did some manage to stay on the train? Did they fall off? Were they able to slow their descent? Did they…</p><p>Luz swallowed, leaning her head off the wall and looked towards the curling strands of the Void only a few feet below the ledge she sat on. It almost seemed to hiss as it moved.</p><p>She shut her eyes and shook her head, refusing to think of the worst as she slumped against the wall again, resigning to save her strength and determining just how bad of shape she was in before doing anything else.</p><p>She had no idea how long she sat there, mentally preparing and urging herself to see if she had any serious injuries. This was worse than trying to force herself to get out of bed in the morning.</p><p>And just like waking up, an outside force was what finally got her moving.</p><p>The sound of shifting and scratching against stones mere feet from her.</p><p>Luz’s eyes snapped open and she wildly looked around, pressing further back against the wall as she prepared for whatever bug monster was about to launch at her. God forbid it was one of those weird mushrooms.</p><p>Nothing moved for a brief moment, before something shifting out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.</p><p>Purple was awake.</p><p>Luz forcefully bit her tongue to stop from making any noise as Purple moved again. She watched, holding her breath as they braced their claw-like hands underneath them and attempted to push themselves off the ground. Their arms strained and shook with the effort as they hissed, collapsing back onto the stone again. </p><p>Luz watched Purple silently lay there for a moment. She reached out hesitantly before Purple moved. They groaned and braced one arm on the ground beside them. They pushed and rolled onto their back, closer to Luz. Said human quickly scrambled back and covered her mouth with her hand, keeping silent.</p><p>Heavy panting came from Purple, their chest rising and falling shakily. Luz almost turned away when she realized that there was deep, unnaturally dark blood beginning to pool around them. Moving must have disturbed their wounds from the fight on the train.</p><p>Purple then braced their arms on the ground beside them, grunting with the effort as they pushed themselves to a sitting position, wincing at every little movement. Their shoulders, which previously were always held high, sagged. Their head hung and for the first time, they looked near unrecognizable from the assassin Luz had grown used to. They looked...defeated.</p><p>Well, that was until their head turned ever so slightly to the side, finally spotting Luz next to them.</p><p>There was a beat of silence.</p><p>“Uh,” Luz slowly moved her hand down from her mouth, her gaze shifting nervously. “Hi?”</p><p>Purple’s previous ginger movements were long gone now. They leapt back and stumbled on their feet, hissing like a cockroach.</p><p>And their foot went right over the ledge.</p><p>Luz was up like a shot, darting forward and reaching out before she could process anything. Her hand snagged Purple’s gloved (and slightly bloody, ew) wrist, halting their fall into the Void.</p><p>Purple was leaning back, their head hanging as they were nearly bent backwards completely. They got a good eyeful of the Void mere feet below them, writhing and pulsating. It seemed to reach towards them like a magnet. The frozen moment of realizing how close they were to an oncoming death vanished as soon as they lifted their head.</p><p>Their masks eyes had been wide like saucers, likely surprised at the outcome of avoiding falling into the Void and the fact <em> Luz </em> of all people was the one to stop them from reaching it.</p><p>Luz began to wonder if her immediate ‘rescue response’ was a bad idea when Purple lunged at her.</p><p>Luz yelped and fell back as Purple slammed her against the stone wall. Faster than Luz thought possible, especially in their state, they had gripped the string of their needle and tugged it into their grasp. It was against Luz’s throat before she could utter another sound.</p><p>Purple stood over Luz, who was a bit slumped on the wall. It was an uncomfortable position, but considering Luz was one second away from getting her head lopped off, she wasn’t about to move.</p><p>“That’s, uh,” Luz swallowed, feeling the needle barely escape breaking her skin as she did so. “A little <em> much </em> right now, don’t you think?” She chuckled nervously, beginning to wonder if <em> this, </em> of all ways, is how she would go out.</p><p>Purple’s eyes narrowed.</p><p>“W-well, I meant considering the <em> circumstance,” </em> Luz continued, some part of her aware she was beginning to ramble. “I mean, trapped in the bottom of a canyon, surrounded by Void, no way to get out or find anyone…” Luz glanced down at the blade and then up at Purple again.</p><p>“Is this, um...really the best <em> time?” </em> She said, well aware she was bargaining with her life here. Hell, who was she kidding? She was practically suggesting they <em> postpone </em> it.</p><p>Purple growled and shifted their hold on the needle, attempting to raise it higher. They yipped and jerked back, clutching their side as they did so, the needle falling away from Luz as it was held tightly in their free hand.</p><p>Luz took her moment to quickly step away from the wall. She put a few feet between her and the assassin, like that amount of distance would slow them in the slightest.</p><p>Purple tilted their head up, shooting Luz a glare. The human raised her hands high, palms out in a gesture she hoped conveyed that no, she did <em> not </em> want to try anything. </p><p>The assassin seemed to weigh their options for a moment, looking between their needle and Luz. After a moment they sighed and hobbled to the wall, turning till their back was pressed against it and they slumped to the ground in an awkward sit.</p><p>Luz took this as an invitation for a standstill and quietly sat as well, wincing when she finally had the time to process how sore and bruised she was.</p><p>Though she supposed she had no place to complain.</p><p>Luz kept her head facing forward, but her gaze continuously drifted sideways to the Chaser. Purple lifted up a decent piece of their torn cloak, seeming to measure it as they looked it over. They then raised their needle and sliced off a large chunk of it. </p><p>Er, more like sawed off. Whether it was because of their cloak material or loose hold on their needle, it didn’t quite slice as cleanly as expected.</p><p>The Chaser then turned to their side, where Eda’s card had been jabbed into it. It had yet to be removed, and Luz’s cringed when she realized what was about to happen.</p><p>Purple pulled up their shirt slightly, exposing the wound and...skin. Pale, almost ghostly, skin. Luz wasn’t quite sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t something so...close to normal.</p><p>She didn’t have long to mull it over, however. Because Purple was already gingerly pulling open their wound and growled in pain as they dug their fingers into it.</p><p>Luz shut an eye and turned her head away for a moment. But morbid curiosity got the best of her and she glanced over again.</p><p>Two of Purple’s fingers were enclosed around the card, which was just barely starting to be slowly (agonizingly so, if you asked Luz) pulled out of the wound. Blackish red blood poured out at every movement, staining Purple’s clothes and gloves even more.</p><p>“Do you--”</p><p>Purple jerked their head up, halting in their delicate procedure to send the most <em> murderous </em> death-glare to Luz.</p><p>Luz shut her mouth again and resigned to staying quiet. But, as always, she was still curious. And she was horrible at trying to hide her spare glances.</p><p>Purple eventually managed to pull the card out, hissing and the eyes of their mask skewing shut as they quickly flicked the blood-soaked card to the side. They grabbed the cloth they’d torn off their cloak and began to wrap it around their body.</p><p>The cloth was already soaking through by the time they finished tying it. A series of growls came from them as they pressed their hand against their wound and thunked their head back on the stone wall, their eyes still shut.</p><p>Luz cringed at the sight, and considering she was getting more and more awkward and nervous the longer she stayed silent, she decided to risk speaking again.</p><p>“You, um,” Luz flinched when Purple’s mask's eye opened and glared at her, but she kept talking. “Don’t happen to have a plan of escape...do you?”</p><p>Purple glared at her for a moment, like they were weighing their options. They then sighed and raised their less-bloody claw, pointing behind Luz.</p><p>She turned, seeing nothing but long stretches of ledges at different heights and intervals, none of which got high enough to use to climb out. There were spaces between a few of them, most of which were easy to jump over.</p><p>“Just...walking around?” Luz blinked. “That’s your plan?”</p><p>Purple held her gaze for a few moments before shrugging and nodding. With that, they went right back to grabbing another part of their cloak and pressing it to their wound.</p><p>“...Well, I’ve got nothing better.” Luz sighed, slumping back against the wall. “Can you even like...walk?” She asked, her eyes flicking to the leg King had bitten.</p><p>Purple rumbled in a scratchy tone  as they slowly removed their hand from their wound. They picked up their needle again and cut off a small unstained piece of their cloak, quickly wrapping it around their leg. On the plus side, it wasn’t <em> nearly </em> as bad as their other wound. Though Luz knew from experience that while King’s teeth were fairly small, the bugger could really cling on if he wanted.</p><p>Purple tied their leg forcefully and wheezed out a shaky breath, straining with the effort as they began to lean to the side, trying to find a hold on the wall with their claws.</p><p>“That-that wasn’t an invitation…” Luz said slowly, shrinking away at the sight. She was no expert by any means, least of all on bug-witches, but she was fairly certain Purple’s raspy breaths and struggling was not a good sign.</p><p>Purple gripped the wall and started to pull themselves up, but their arms shook with the effort, and their claws weren’t dug into the rock at all. So pretty much immediately their grip slipped and they fell back to the ground, their mask knocking harshly against the wall.</p><p>“Hey, hey,” Luz quickly took a few steps forward, reaching out. “I didn’t mean we had to move right now--”</p><p>Purple snarled, not unlike a cat, and shied away from Luz, almost tripping over themselves. Luz sharply retracted away from them.</p><p>“Sorry, sorry,” She murmured, taking a hesitant step back. “But we’re not going to get far if you can’t walk, I just wanted to…”</p><p>Luz paused, for once, the rest of her sentence on the tip of her tongue.</p><p>Christ, she wants to <em> help </em> them, doesn’t she? A Chaser, who, not long ago, was trying to stab her on a moving train. Who, granted, also endangered their own life to <em> stop </em> her from falling off said train. And if Luz looked deeper, she could probably find multiple not-so-heroic reasons the assassin would’ve attempted to save her from falling into the Void.</p><p>But Luz was ever an optimist. And while Purple was in no condition to do, well, anything, they still had to know more about this than Luz. Knowledge was better than nothing. And hey, maybe if she was stupidly lucky, Purple wouldn’t feel <em> as </em> inclined to kill her.</p><p>“Look,” Luz tried, pressing the palms of her hands together as she looked down to the Chaser, who was currently still glaring at her and trying (failing) to get to their feet.</p><p>“I don’t want to be here, you don’t want to be here, what about a middle ground so we’re not both going to die down here? If you can even die at this point,” Luz mumbled, looking over Purple. She was expecting a bit more of an extreme ‘oh this is the end of the line for me’ from them, but they were holding up a decent amount. As well as they could be, at least.</p><p>Purple huffed, almost mimicking rolling their eyes as they pressed a hand to the wound on their side and held onto the stone, keeping themselves sitting upright.</p><p>“Can we at least try a truce?” Luz pleaded, her shoulders falling. </p><p>Purple stared at her for a few moments, their breathing raggety. Luz could hear the rattling of their spines, which were barely twitching and poking into view along their back.</p><p>“My mami’s a nurse,” Luz continued, growing increasingly anxious under their stare. “I don’t know as much as she does, but I picked up a few things from her. Does...does that help?” She swallowed, giving a sheepish smile.</p><p>Purple gave the impression of a raised brow, their rattling spines stilling. They glanced to their wound, which had somewhat slowed its bleeding, then they glanced to their leg, and then the needle beside them, still tied to their waist by a string.</p><p>Luz could almost see the gears turning in their head, and she mentally braced herself to start running if Purple decided cutting their losses and attacking Luz would be easier. Hell, for all she knew, this thing had rapid alien healing and just needed to cocoon or something and they’d be fine.</p><p>Did the witches down here count as aliens? They lived on Earth, so maybe not? Actually, that’d probably depend on who was on Earth first. Were <em> humans </em> the aliens?</p><p>Luz was snapped out of her thoughts as Purple shifted, slowly pulling themselves to their feet. They heavily leaned on the wall and struggled for a few seconds, gasping as they tugged their needle closer.</p><p>Luz resisted the urge to take a few steps back. Her nerves were rising as she held her hands close together and brushed her thumb over her knuckles, her only calming grace.</p><p>Purple finally looked up at Luz, leaning their shoulder on the stone wall as they tightly held their needle. They started to lift their hand, but upon realizing it was still bloody, decided against it. Instead, they raised their needle and pointed it towards Luz.</p><p>They stayed like that for a moment, Luz glancing from the point of the needle a few inches from her chest and back to their face (mask? Did they have a face underneath?). </p><p>Purple grumbled and shook their needle slightly, holding it out further. Cautiously, Luz lifted her hand and hesitantly reached out for the needle. Purple showed no sign of moving or recoiling, so Luz allowed herself to grab the end of the needle, just above the point.</p><p>Purple then shook the needle, like it was a handshake. It was a little awkward and stiff, but they didn’t seem to mind. With that, they lightly pulled their needle back and let it fall.</p><p>Luz blinked, trying to process whatever <em> that </em> was.</p><p>“Are--is that a yes?” Luz asked, bewildered. “Are you agreeing to a truce?” She questioned, an excited, hopeful tone seeping in.</p><p>Purple chirped, slowly sliding back against the wall until they hit the ground, wincing. Though they seemed more annoyed than anything. Luz took that as a yes.</p><p>“Thank God,” Luz breathed a sigh of relief, her tension falling. “I was <em> not </em> looking forward to trying to get out on my own.”</p><p>Purple creaked, or at least that's what the noise sounded like, and slid down slightly, gesturing with immense impatience towards the wound in their side. That now had an almost completely bloodsoaked and dripping cloth around it.</p><p>“...Oh, right!” Luz squeaked, dropping to her knees and scooting closer.</p><p>Purple recoiled, almost on instinct, when Luz got closer. They hissed and drew closer in on themselves, flinching slightly as they did so.</p><p>“Sorry, sorry!” Luz quickly apologized, scooting back and raising her palms. Right, the assassin still hated her guts.</p><p>Purple relaxed a bit, muttering as they held out a palm in a ‘stay’ gesture and used their other hand to gesture to their wound.</p><p>“Right, right, erm,” Luz wracked her brain for what she remembered, tapping her fingers on the stone beneath her. Which Purple watched with rapt interest, twitching their own claws.</p><p>“You're going to want to take that off,” Luz said, gesturing to the soaked cloth as her Mami’s instructions came back to her. </p><p>“And you’ll probably have to use your whole cloak, since wet cloth won’t hold the blood in very well. And get infected.” Luz paused for a brief moment. “And not the mind-control Infection, I mean the bacteria kind.”</p><p>Purple looked at her like she was an idiot. For a creature with only a mask that had two pitch black eyes, they were oddly expressive. </p><p>“What?” Luz huffed, crossing her arms. “It’s a reasonable warning to give!” </p><p>Purple decidedly ignored her, grabbing at the soaked cloth around them. They tore it off (almost frighteningly easily) to expose a rather nasty, but not as bad as it could’ve been, gash along their side. Their shirt was already just as blood-soaked.</p><p>“You're also going to want to tie your cloak around it <em> really </em> tight.” Luz continued instructing them. “Oh, and cut off an extra piece to replace and re-wrap around your leg when your current one gets too dirty.”</p><p>Purple gruffed to signify they had heard her, too busy unclasping their cloak and gauging which side they wanted to cut off to bother looking up at her.</p><p>And that's where the two of them remained; with Luz leading Purple through the steps to properly patch up their injuries. They’d clearly done this before, but weren’t exactly <em> aware </em> of how much work was normally put into it.</p><p>Personally, Luz was just glad they were listening to her at all.</p><p>Getting the two of them stable enough to walk was one thing, actually getting <em> out </em> was going to be a whole other problem.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanna be one<br/>One of the free and the unbound<br/>Can we forget all that we've left<br/>And be surprised by what we've found</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. In Which Purple Almost Has a Heart Attack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Unstoppable force of friendship meets immoveable object of escape. This goes on for a while.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>late update? wym? never heard of it I'm perfectly on time</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>                 Purple either has to be remarkably stubborn or ridiculously inhuman, because Luz is pretty sure any regular human, or even witch, would’ve collapsed from blood loss at this point.</p><p>She decides it's probably a bit of both.</p><p>Purple had insisted on moving as soon as their injuries were bandaged up. Luz protested, but clearly, when Purple had an idea in their head, they couldn’t quit. Because despite that, Purple still got up and limped their way through the trench. Luz couldn’t do much but follow. Or, really, lead.</p><p>Every few minutes Luz would stop and turn around, seeing that Purple had fallen back a bit and was struggling to keep up. And Luz found Purple was...a <em> lot </em> less intimidating. Obviously, because of the whole injured thing, but they had taken off their cloak and wrapped it around their side, leaving them just in black. They seemed <em> far </em> skinnier than Luz imagined, like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Who knows, maybe those animals who made themselves look bigger had the right idea on intimidation.</p><p>But back to the topic at hand.</p><p>Luz would insist on slowing down whenever Purple seemed to take an extra minute to catch up, but at this point, they’d stopped responding. Luz figured they were just tuning her out.</p><p>So, clearly that wasn’t going to work. But what else was Luz supposed to do? Walk in awkward silence for hours on end? She’d rather try to climb the trench with her bare hands. </p><p>And for the dozenth time in half an hour (she thinks, time is weird when you're underground and lost in a ravine), Luz was leaning against the wall of the pit, arms crossed as she waited for Purple to limp their way over.</p><p>“So,” She started. Upon no reaction from Purple as they continued limping by, she took it as a go-ahead. “Do you have a name?”</p><p>Purple finally looked up at her (progress!), giving her a tired look. They then went right back to limping, now beginning to pass Luz.</p><p>“...okay, no name then.” Luz said, pushing off the wall and deciding to walk slowly alongside them. “Is it cool if I call you Purple, then? Cause that’s kind of what I’ve been doing lately.”</p><p>Purple blinked, or at least gave the impression of it, and looked over at Luz incredulously. </p><p>“So I’m not original, sue me.” Luz mumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets. “You got a preference for something else?”</p><p>Purple grumbled a few throaty clicking sounds, turning their head back to paying attention to what was in front of them.</p><p>“Well, I can’t pronounce that, so I think Purple will have to suffice.” Luz said simply.</p><p>She could’ve sworn the light chuffing sound Purple made was almost a laugh.</p><p>The silence started up again, and Luz reached for anything to talk about. Or, ask, really. It was a little hard to keep up a conversation with someone who couldn’t talk, but she could make this work.</p><p>“I’ve also just been calling you a they,” Luz started, waving her hand around. “Is that alright, too?”</p><p>Purple glanced over at her again, and Luz got the feeling they very much didn’t want to entertain her questions or pestering. To their credit, they weren’t outright ignoring Luz anymore.</p><p>“Do you go by he?” Luz guessed, kicking at the small pebbles beneath her feet in some attempt to not have to focus solely on the conversation. “She?”</p><p>Purple raised a claw, chirping as they pointed at Luz and nodded. Praise them for using gestures that Luz could understand.</p><p>“You're a she?” Luz guessed. Purple nodded calmly, going right back to dragging herself over the stones.</p><p>Luz resisted the urge to pump a fist in the air. She was getting somewhere! Purple seemed to not have an aversion to yes or no questions, probably because they were easy to answer, so if she just kept asking those, she could maybe not get murdered after all this.</p><p>Or at least be entertained for a while.</p><p>“Uh, lets see,” Luz thought aloud, searching for questions. “Well, since we’re down here, did you see where anyone else fell off?”</p><p>Purple shook her head, not bothering to look over at Luz this time.</p><p>“Not even the other two Chasers?” Luz inquired. “Actually, do they have names, too? I never managed to get any for them. We kind of just identify those two as ‘the one with darts’ and ‘the one with the rivet.’” </p><p>Purple snorted, raising a brow as she looked to her side, where her needle was resting on her belt. She pointed to the needle, then to her, with a faint amused air to her.</p><p>“What, you think we should’ve called you Needle?” Luz huffed. “That...huh,” She paused. “That actually might’ve been more creative than Purple.”</p><p>Purple snickered, Luz was sure of it this time, their body shaking slightly with a laugh. Luz will admit, she felt quite proud of her feat. For a solid five seconds.</p><p>The movement made Purple wince, and she hunched her shoulders as she stopped in her tracks, hissing.</p><p>“Crap, are you alright?” Luz fretted, stepping closer. “I told you, we really should rest, that wound could--” </p><p>Her hand brushed Purple’s shoulder, and it was like a switch was flipped.</p><p>Purple snarled, a feral, guttural noise Luz would be <em> terrified </em> to hear at night. And was more than a little scary to hear in the moment.</p><p>Purple jerked away from Luz, claws unsheathing as she stumbled right towards the edge.</p><p>Luz was somehow thinking clearly enough to sharply back away instead of reaching out, fearing the Chaser would fall right off into the Void.</p><p>And, thankfully, Purple didn’t take a step too far. The edge of her heel went over the edge for barely a moment, pebbles clicking and falling silently in the blackness beneath them. It was enough for Purple to look back and retract her foot.</p><p>Once again, the Void almost seemed to reach for her, like a hundred hands towards a raft in the middle of a sea. Though none were close enough to be anywhere near actually grabbing her.</p><p>Luz swallowed and Purple stepped away from the ledge, shaking herself and tightening her hold around her wounded side.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I didn’t--”</p><p>Purple growled, glancing at Luz before straightening up somewhat, though it was clear doing so completely would be too painful. With a gruff and a sharp turn of her head, she went right on walking (poorly so). At a much brisker pace this time.</p><p>Luz, who personally didn’t want to see how else Purple would react if further prodded, resigned to keeping her mouth shut and shuffling after her.</p><p>Well, at least she had made <em> some </em> progress.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>                 The next pits of walking were <em> far </em> more silent than earlier. Luz wasn’t even rambling or saying something brief to break the anxious silence like before. She didn’t even bother walking ahead of Purple, even though her regular pace was still faster than hers. Being in Purple’s line of sight and having to wait for her seemed like a death sentence at this point.</p><p>Purple either knew Luz was doing this on purpose or didn’t care, because she hadn’t looked back once. Only hobbling along and growling quietly if she stumbled, to which Luz had to bite her tongue and let happen.</p><p>It continued like that for what seemed like an eternity, though now that Luz thought back, it was probably about fifteen minutes or so. And Luz had been so wrapped up in feeling awful for startling Purple that she hadn’t noticed said Chaser had stopped moving.</p><p>It was a miracle Luz managed to realize it in time before walking right into her, giving a small squeak as she jumped back.</p><p>Purple glanced back, for the first time, with nothing short of an annoyed glare.</p><p>“Uh, sorry,” Luz mumbled with a shy smile. “What’s the hold...up…”</p><p>Luz trailed off as she peered around the assassin. There, in front of them both, was nothing but a gaping hole straight into the Void.</p><p>The large jut of rock they had been walking across had ended, leaving a sizable gap before them. There was another ledge a few feet in front of them, though it was also well above the height of their current standing. Not an impossible jump, but Luz was a little antsy about someone as banged up as Purple trying to traverse it.</p><p>Purple paced, limping to the side as she looked between their ledge and the one above and across from them. Her eyes were narrowed, and she made a lot of odd steps as she tried to figure out how to make the leap.</p><p>Luz, meanwhile, was pretty sure she could make it in one bounce.</p><p>Easily? No, but she was fairly certain she’d made worse before. And Purple was <em> definitely </em> going to have some trouble getting over that.</p><p>So Luz took a few steps back, sizing up the gap between the two ledges. This would be a <em> lot </em> easier with her sword, but it would have to do.</p><p>Purple chirped quietly as she looked between the distance. Her hand went to her needle right as Luz crouched down, bunching up her legs.</p><p>Now, were anyone else here, they probably would’ve caught on right away to Luz’s (heart-attack inducing) plan. But fortunately for her, none of her friends were here right now. And Purple had yet to get used to how impulsive Luz’s plans could be.</p><p>So when Purple turned around, she had no time to prepare or stop Luz as she took off straight towards the gap between the ledges.</p><p>Purple’s eyes widened and a sound similar to a cat’s wail and yelp came from her as Luz leapt off at the very end of the rock, completely untethered in the air for a few seconds. Right before she slammed, rather harshly, into the other jut of stone.</p><p><em> “Woo!” </em> Luz cheered, despite the fact that only her hands had a good grip, and half her body was dangling precariously over the Void.</p><p>Purple was now rapidly pacing across the rock she was still on, sounding like a strained, slightly less painful chalkboard. Luz paid no heed, instead moving her feet around to try and get a good grip on the rocks to hoist herself up.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I got it!” Luz called (rather optimistically) behind her.</p><p>Purple’s distressed calls didn’t cease, neither did her lopsided pacing. It took a few more agonizing moments before Luz had managed to get her foot caught on a nook in the rocks and heave herself up, rolling over onto her back once she did so.</p><p>“I’m okay!” She assured, not even bothering to lift her head as she caught her breath, calming from her adrenaline rush.</p><p>Then, and only then, did Purple finally stop. Luz sat up then, looking down and seeing a thoroughly pissed off witch (if Purple counted as one) glaring up at her.</p><p>“Oh, so <em> you </em> can walk for hours on end while bleeding out, but when <em> I </em> jump a gap, suddenly it's an issue?” Luz demanded.</p><p>Many loud, chittering squawks came from Purple as she began waving her hands around and gesturing to Luz, her irked tone not lost on the human in the slightest. She still held the needle, and Luz was rather grateful she wasn’t within stabbing distance.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, should’ve warned you,” Luz mumbled, crawling to the edge of the ledge. “But look on the bright side! Now I can help you cross over. So I’d say it was worth it.”</p><p>Luz swears she saw Purple’s eye twitch.</p><p>And then, immediately after, Purple raised the needle in her hand and stepped back. Luz knew that stance well enough and quickly backed away.</p><p>In a mostly fluid movement, she threw the needle like a spear almost towards the exact spot Luz had been sitting. It embedded into the stone right below where Luz had been, albeit not very deep. Either Purple’s aim was failing, or the rocks were <em> very </em> tough down here.</p><p>“Is that a good ide--”</p><p>Luz was cut off by Purple giving her a dirty look, and Luz slowly shut her mouth. Right, not her place to bring up how bad an idea is.</p><p>Purple tugged on the string connecting her belt to her needle, experimentally testing it out. Luz, fairly certain that needle would hold about as well as the first time Purple tried that stunt, made sure to grab the other end of it with her hands. A safety-line of sorts.</p><p>Purple seemed exasperated but didn’t argue. Instead, she crouched at the edge and bunched her legs up like a cat underneath her. One wrist had the string loosely wrapped around it, her hands free to become clawed and grip the stone underneath her.</p><p>With far more grace than Luz, Purple sprung.</p><p>Granted, it was as much grace as someone bleeding from two injuries could muster.</p><p>Purple hit the rock, a little lighter, and instantly dug her claws in and gave a hiss, coiling in on herself. Luz winced, that had to hurt.</p><p>Purple was quick to begin pulling herself up, and Luz began to offer her hand for a moment before deciding better of it and scooting to the side. She gave the Chaser room as she kept her hands tightly around the safety needle.</p><p>The assassin flopped onto her front when she climbed up, her feet hanging off the edge as she deflated with a groan. Luz, who felt assured Purple wouldn’t roll off to her demise, wiggled the needle for a few moments until it popped loose. She set it down before looking back to Purple, crawling closer until she was peering over the bug.</p><p>One of Purple’s eyes opened, landing on Luz. Her ragged breathing slowed then as she growled and pushed herself onto her knees. Luz didn’t move back, instead gazing over Purple’s side and noting that the cloak had gotten dirty once more.</p><p>“You should probably change that up again.” Luz mentioned, a lot more casual than one should probably be when next to an upset assassin.</p><p>Purple grumbled, flicking her wrist that was still wrapped up in the string. It quickly brought the needle closer to her, and in one movement, Purple had grabbed the needle and raised it to Luz’s face.</p><p>Luz instinctively stiffened, the point of the needle pressed right on the bridge of her nose. Luz crossed her eyes to look at the point.</p><p>“So,” Luz said with a click of her tongue. “I take it...you're still mad at me?” She guessed sheepishly, her eyes uncrossing for a moment to look towards Purple, who seemed like she was debating if she was too tired to be bothered.</p><p>Instead, Purple sighed and pushed at the needle, causing Luz to lean and then stumble back so as to avoid getting a new injury on her face.</p><p>Which ended up not working when Purple gave one last tiny push and pierced the skin between Luz’s eyes.</p><p>“Ow!” Luz yelped, jerking away and pressed a hand to the wound. Purple snickered and sat back, strapping the needle to her belt.</p><p>It wasn’t bleeding very much, barely anything really, but Luz was still miffed. Purple didn’t seem to care and rolled to her feet, muttering as she shuffled towards the stone wall.</p><p>Luz blinked, watching her from where she sat as Purple flopped against the wall, already messing with her cloak wrapped around her injury so she could press slightly-cleaner cloth against it.</p><p>“A...are we resting <em> now?” </em> Luz asked incredulously.</p><p>Purple raised a brow, looking around and gesturing with a hand as though the answer were obvious and not at all a legitimate question in these circumstances.</p><p><em> “Seriously?” </em> Luz groaned. “I ask you to break for <em> hours, </em> and all I have to do to get you to take a break is to be quiet for fifteen minutes? Or was it the reckless behavior that made you decide it's time to have a break?”</p><p>Purple puffed with a shrug, and Luz had a sneaking suspicion she was grinning under that mask. <em> If </em> there was anything under the mask. Maybe it was just void, that’d be cool.</p><p>The assassin then gestured with her claws to a spot a couple feet from her, even snapping her claws in emphasis. Luz, who was in a mix of being excited that Purple didn’t appear to want her gutted and very mildly annoyed, decided it was alright to talk more.</p><p>“What, think I’m going to dive off headfirst for fun?” Luz grumbled, though she did get up and walk to the spot Purple wanted her to sit in.</p><p>Purple nodded calmly, to which Luz gave an offended gasp. </p><p>“I’ll have you know that I have <em> some </em> impulse control,” Luz scoffed with mock-annoyance. “And I am honestly <em> appalled </em> that you’d think otherwise.”</p><p>Purple looked at her strangely then, her head tilting like she was looking between Luz and whatever else was around them. As though she were confused at Luz’s dramatized outrage.</p><p>“I…” Luz hesitated, but decided she’d already made enough bad decisions that she could risk looking like a further idiot by guessing incorrectly. “You know I was joking, right?”</p><p>Purple’s brows raised at that (mimicking doing so, really), humming in realization. She looked far more assured before nodding and going back to re-tying her cloak around her side.</p><p>So, Purple had a little trouble with sarcasm at times. Good to know.</p><p>Luz took the moment of calmness to look up the chasm. She could see faded lights from nearby towns shining just over the trench. Luz had no idea what time it was now, the Boiling Isles didn’t really have a sense of night and day, but she could figure that now was generally when <em> most </em> people were asleep. Though knowing Eda, she’d be wide awake right now. She’d always insisted the ‘normal time’ for everyone else was stupid.</p><p>“Do you think we’ll find the others?” Luz wondered aloud, turning her head slightly to the Chaser. “I’d say I’m pretty alright at finding wherever my friends run off to, but that’s usually because Eda leaves a wake of destruction in her path. You gotta be good with tracking to find us all the time, right?”</p><p>Purple didn’t respond, as per usual. But she did glance up to Luz, her claws twitching. Her shoulders seemed to raise, becoming stiffer as she looked out at the canyon they were in. She didn’t look at Luz as she shrugged and leaned back against the wall, one hand laying across her wounded leg and pressing at it.</p><p>“Do you need new bandages for your leg?” Luz asked, perking up and leaning just a bit closer. “I can help with--”</p><p>Luz cut herself off when Purple shrank away from her getting closer. There was still at least a two foot distance between them, and yet Purple coiled right back in on herself.</p><p>“Right,” Luz mumbled, moving back to her previous position.</p><p>And that was that, she supposed. </p><p>Luz drew her knees close to her chest, noting that Purple had turned her back to her and was likely attempting to sleep. Or at least get <em> some </em> rest.</p><p>Luz figured she should probably try to rest, too. She had a lot more walking ahead of her. So she stretched her legs out, using her hands as a pillow on the <em> very </em> uncomfortable ground.</p><p>“Night, guys.” She whispered to no one in particular. Nobody around right now, at least.</p><p>Silence answered her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m packing up the suitcase<br/>Whether your ready or not</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Beneath the train tracks<br/>There's an old familiar sound<br/>The rumble of adventure<br/>As people are whisked from town to town</p></blockquote></div></div>
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